North Olympic Peninsula temperatures are expected to begin slowly rising above freezing today, according to the National Weather Service, which forecast the very slow warming trend topping 32 degrees only after noon.
Roads slick on Sunday probably will remain so today until the chill on the Peninsula created by the Fraser Valley Outflow in British Columbia begins to lift.
“If it hasn’t had a chance to melt off, be aware of that,” said Maddy Kristell, meteorologist with the Seattle office of the NWS.
More wintry weather will roll in early Tuesday afternoon, Kristell said, with a mixture of snow and freezing rain that is likely to refreeze overnight.
But on Wednesday, temperatures are expected to rise into the 40s, Kristell said.
Hurricane Ridge Road was open on Saturday and Sunday, but the Ski and Snowboard Area at the Ridge was not.
Despite the 42 inches of snow recorded Friday at the Waterhole Snotel site at the Ridge, the snow was too unconsolidated to build the tracks needed to run the lifts, according to the Facebook page of the Hurricane Ridge Winter Sports Club, which operates the ski area for Olympic National Park.
“We will not be open this weekend,” the site said. “New storms starting on Tuesday so we will try again next weekend.”
Fee-free day
Hurricane Ridge Road is scheduled to be open today, weather permitting.
Olympic National Park, Olympic National Forest and Washington state parks will be open to visitors fee-free today for the Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday.
The Olympic National Park fee waiver for the fee-free days applies only to the entrance fees and does not cover amenity or user fees for camping, boat launches, transportation, special tours or other activities, such as wilderness camping.
Fees are normally required to enter all areas of Olympic National Park. For information, and to buy passes online, see https://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/fees.htm.
The U.S. Forest Service will waive standard recreation use fees for Forest Service-managed picnic areas, boat launches, trailheads and visitor centers.
Fees for camping, cabin rentals and any necessary permits still apply, and fees will also be charged at concessionaire-operated recreation sites unless the concessionaire chooses to participate.
For more information about Forest Service recreation passes and fees, see https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/r6/passes-permits.
On state fee-free days, visitors are not required to display a Discover Pass for day-use visits to a state park or on lands managed by the state Department of Natural Resources or state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
State parks on the North Olympic Peninsula are Bogachiel near Forks, Hoko River near Clallam Bay, Dosewallips near Brinnon, Fort Flagler on Marrowstone Island, Fort Townsend and Fort Worden in Port Townsend, Anderson Lake near Chimacum and Sequim Bay near Sequim.
Discover Passes cost $30 for an annual pass or $10 for a one-day permit.
The pass is required for vehicle access to state recreation lands managed by State Parks, Fish and Wildlife and DNR.
For information about the Discover Pass, visit https://parks.wa.gov/passes-permits.
Olympic National Park has closed all campgrounds.
Slick roads
Reports of vehicles sliding into ditches peppered agencies in Clallam and Jefferson counties.
“Stay home if you can. Hunker down,” said Sgt. Kevin Miller with the Port Angeles Police Department on Saturday.
He was echoed by Keppie Keplinger, deputy director of the Jefferson County Emergency Management Department, who said: “Slow down and be careful.”
For lowland drivers, snow isn’t the major problem on the Peninsula now; it’s ice. Temperatures that rose to the mid-20s on Saturday crept up a little higher on Sunday but remained below freezing.
No more snow is expected in the near future and the high wind gusts seen in the Cascades are not happening on the Peninsula, Kristell said.
On Thursday night, all available tow trucks were in use getting people out of the S-curve at Morse Creek, Miller said. The State Patrol and state Department of Transportation were involved in piloting people through the morass of cars sliding off the road, which slowed traffic by anywhere from two to four hours, according to reports.
No widespread outages were reported by either Clallam or Jefferson public utility districts on Saturday or Sunday, but Jefferson PUD did issue a plea for customers to conserve electricity as much as possible to stave off possible outages.
Clallam County PUD left this message on its website on Sunday: “We are currently experiencing record cold temperatures. We do not have any planned outages tonight. Nor are we calling for conservation at this time.”
Shelters
Here are some resources available:
Port Angeles
• Serenity House Shelter, 2321 W. 18th St., Port Angeles; 360-452-7221.
Serenity House will be available 24/7 while the weather stays below freezing. Three meals a day are served: Breakfast 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.; lunch 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.; dinner: 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Donations of full-size blankets for shelter beds and hand warmers are needed.
• Salvation Army, 202 S. Peabody St., Port Angeles; 360-452-7679.
The Salvation Army provides breakfast from 8 a.m. to 8:55 a.m. and lunch from noon to 12:55 p.m., as well as clothing assistance.
• The Answer for Youth (TAFY), 826 E. First St., Port Angeles; 360-670-4363.
A small food bank and free clothing closet is available to youth and young families up to age 35. Blankets, tents and other supplies also are available. It is open from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays.
• Individuals not eligible to enter Serenity House or who are unable to find shelter are encouraged to contact Peninsula Behavioral Health’s R.E.A.L. Team at 360-912-7833 for assistance.
Forks
• Serenity House Forks Resource Center, 287 Founders Way, Forks; 360-670-4934.
This is not an overnight shelter, but people are welcome to come in to get out of the cold weekdays only from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Jefferson County
• Jefferson Interfaith Action Coalition Winter Welcoming Center, Pope Marine Building, 100 Madison St., Port Townsend; 360-821-4811.
Cots and food are available at the center, which will be open 24 hours a day so long as temperatures warrant it. On Sunday, organizers were expecting to remain open tonight and be back to regular hours on Tuesday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. unless freezing conditions continue.
• Community centers in Brinnon and Quilcene were open for daytime warming on Friday and are monitoring conditions to see if they will be open at any time this weekend, Keplinger said.
Richard Fitzgerald at the Quilcene Community Center, 294952 U.S. Highway 101, said Saturday that, although the shelter can’t have its doors open 24/7, he would open it if a person or family called to say they were struggling to stay warm. They can bring dog or cat pets also. His number is 360-460-1573.
